NAME

savecore − save a core dump of the operating system

SYNOPSIS

/usr/etc/savecore [ -f ] [ -v ] [ -a ] [ -c ] dirname [ system ]

DESCRIPTION

savecore is meant to be called from /etc/rc.  Its function is to save the core dump of the system (assuming one was made) and to write a reboot message in the shutdown log.  The core dump, if it exists, is expected to be in the dump device, which is determined during the configuration of the system (see the chapter titled Configuring the System, in the CX/UX System Administration Manual). 

savecore checks the core dump to be certain it corresponds with the current running unix.  If it does, it saves the core image in the file dirname/vmcore.n and the namelist in dirname/unix.n.  The trailing “.n” in the pathnames is replaced by a number which grows every time savecore is run in that directory.  The file dirname/bounds contains the number to append to the next pair of core dump files. 

savecore will write out a core image if the time the dump was taken is not zero and within three days of the current date.  Also, the space avaliable in the filesystem which contains dirname must be greater than the number of kilobytes specified in the file dirname/minfree.  This number must be in decimal notation, and on the first line of the file.  If the file doesn’t exist or contains “0,” the core file will always be written out. 

savecore also writes a reboot message in the shutdown log, and records the reboot using the LOG_AUTH facility (see syslog(3)).  If the system crashed as a result of a panic, the panic string is recorded as well. 

If the core dump was from a system other than /unix, the name of that system must be supplied as sysname. 

OPTIONS

−f Force the dump to occur. 
This option overrides both the time constraint and the filesystem space constraint.  Both the time of the dump and the contents of dirname/minfree are ignored. 

−v Be verbose. 
Normally, savecore does its work quietly, with very few messages.  However, if this option is used, several informational messages will be printed to the standard output. 

−a Write the whole core dump. 
When this option is used, the core dump is transfered in its entirety from the dump device to the core image file.  Otherwise, only those pages belonging to the system and the first few pages of the processes’ stacks are written out.

−c Clear the core dump. 
Clear the core dump in the dump device, making it undetectable.

SEE ALSO

syslog(3)
See Configuring the System, in the CX/UX System Administration Manual. 

FILES

/usr/adm/shutdownlogshutdown log
/unixcurrent UNIX
dirname/minfreespace requirements on filesystem. 
dirname/bound number to append to the next core dump pair in this directory. 

BUGS

Can be fooled into thinking a core dump is the wrong size. 

CX/UX Administrator’s Reference